What is New Thought?

I had someone ask an interesting question the other day.  They said, “How do you pronounce the acronym GIATI?”  I say, “jee-ah-tee.”  That’s what I hear in my inner ear, anyway.

He then asked me about my denomination.  I get that the words “interfaith” and “nondenominational” mean different things to different people.  You can call me a New Thought Christian, if you like.  You could also call me a Progressive, Practical Christian.

So what is New Thought?  Rev. Dr. Jesse Jennings of the Creative Life Spiritual Center in Houston, Texas wrote one of the best, most concise definitions of New Thought I’ve seen.  It appeared in the January 2012 issue of Science of Mind magazine:

“New Thought is a family of organized faith systems (Divine Science, Religious Science, Unity) and independent centers whose principal teaching is the ability of one to shape his or her own life through the awareness that access to the Divine exists within the individual, as directed consciousness, because the universe, both in form and as potential, is one system, which we may call “God.” Access to the divine stream of awareness, and management of outer conditions thereby, is achieved through meditation, affirmative prayer, and the exploration of one’s own beliefs and spiritual psychology. New Thought believes in the healing of conditions by aligning one’s mind with the “perfect pattern” of wholeness after which everything was created. God is all there is, and we focus on attributes we wish to manifest, especially in terms of feeling loving and loved, creative, and so forth. There’s more, but that’s the gist.”

When he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would show up, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you.”  (Luke 17: 20-21)  He also said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith,” (Matthew 9:29) and “All things are possible to him that believes.” (Mark 9:23)  These are just two other ways of saying the same thing Rev. Jesse said.

The statement of principles of Religious Science offers a pretty complete idea of what New Thought is all about.  The statements of principle of Divine Science and Unity are very similar.  A book you might find helpful is “The New Thought Christian” by Rev. William Warch.  If you find yourself wanting to know more about New Thought, you can contact me for other book titles.

Much love and many blessings,

Rev. Jeff

If you need a friendly ear or some prayer support, let me know. If you’d like some in-depth counseling or coaching support, I’m here to help. Fees to the ministry are reasonable. No one is ever turned away for an inability to pay. You can reach me via email me at revjeff@GIATI-Ministries.org and set up an appointment for me to call you. (Be sure to include your phone number!) Donations can be made through PayPal using the email address iamspiritexpressing@yahoo.com